Film Review: Kurdish Yezidis (2009) by Florence Gavage, *****

Synopsis

According to ancient legend, in the beginning God created a white pearl and a bird. He then created seven angels including Melek Taus, the peacock angel whom he made the greatest of them all. To make land, He threw Lalish into the water which made it solid. And so the seven Angels went ashore at Lalish.  These people, the Yezidis, believe that they were the very first inhabitants on earth when the world was created. Yezidism is one of the most unusual and unknown religions on earth. It has survived during the centuries despite its status as an unrecognized religion under Islamic rule, and through many onslaughts against its Kurdish followers. 

Review

This is a unique documentary on a little known people. The director has done thorough research and has traveled not only to Iraq to document the life of contemporary Yezidis, but also to various countries to meet Yezidi diaspora.

You can view Part 1/2 here:



You can vew Part 2/2 here:

Concert: Sacrificium, by Cecilia Bartoli, *****

Today I went to listen to Cecilia Bartoli at the Brussels Bozar. One of the most powerful voices on the planet. This project is about XVIII century music written for "castrati", young males who were castrated before puberty to keep their voices from maturing into full male voices.

A stunning performance, she can not just sing but enthrall the crowd to with her flamboyant personality. She was clearly having fun! I was lucky enough to find a ticket close enough to her to feel my bones vibrate at her seemingly endless warble. Her technical virtuosity is almost painful to hear, one keeps wondering how she can keep going so long, so powerfully and so well without breathing. The concert hall was shaking. She sounds supernatural. Maybe she is. I think "Eyebags" put it very well here in this blog.

Film review: The Last Assyrians, by Robert Alaux, ****

For six years Robert Alaux researched and wrote this documentary. It is the first film that tells the complete history of the Assyrian Chaldean Syriac people. History overlooks how they suffered from massacres, hunger and starvation during the1915 genocide; and the international community has not protected these people in their homeland after decades of mass exodus.

Despite their pain and suffering this indigenous Christian community, including the Diaspora, seek justice, peace, prosperity, security, and solidarity in the Middle East. From their ancient beginning in Mesopotamia to their present existence in the Middle East and around the world, the story of the last people to speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus. I wish to thank Faito Doc Festival for having shown this movie to me and Robert Alaux for having presented it in Brussels.

This is a passionate accunt of the plight of an ancient people and a significant diaspora who can't really hope to have their own state but have been fighting to preserve their identity.

You can watch a trailer of this movie here. 

DVD available in English et en français. Contact the director here.

Film review: Quantum of Solace (2008), by Marc Forster, ***

Synopsis

Daniel Craig returns as Ian Fleming's most famous creation in Quantum of Solace, the first film in the James Bond series to follow directly on from the previous entry. Continuing where Casino Royale concluded, Quantum of Solace finds Bond on a perilous mission to uncover the truth behind the betrayal of his beloved Vesper, while keeping one step ahead of M (Judi Dench – Mrs Henderson Presents, Shakespeare In Love), the CIA and a shadowy organisation fronted by the diabolical Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric – The Diving Bell And The Butterfly, Marie Antoinette).

Recensione film: Dallo Zolfo al Carbone (2008), di Luca Vullo, *****

Sinossi

La storia e le sofferenze degli emigranti siciliani in Belgio che il giovane regista Luca Vullo ha voluto raccontare in Dallo zolfo al carbone, documentario di 53 minuti che prende spunto dal Patto Italo-Belga del 1946, accordo firmato dal primo Presidente della Repubblica Luigi Einaudi che con questa astuta mossa assicurava non solo un lavoro certo ai tanti disoccupati italiani, e nella fattispecie meridionali, ma anche una sicura fornitura energetica all’Italia in tempi di crisi post-bellica. La realtà dei fatti, quello che veramente è significato accettare quell’accordo, ci viene raccontata dalla viva voce, a volte rotta dalla commozione, a volte sorprendentemente energica, dei veri protagonisti della vicenda, coloro i quali nel dopoguerra erano bambini o ragazzetti e che, pane duro e coraggio, sono saliti su un treno e hanno raggiunto quelle preziose miniere di carbone.

Recensione film: La Besa di Luce (2007), di Nathalie Rossetti e Turi Finocchiaro, ****

Sinossi
Dopo la dittatura comunista di Enver Hoxha, la vendetta è diventata "una forma di giustizia". Luce invece accetta il dialogo con un mediatore di pace mandato dalla famiglia dell’assassino per chiedere la riconciliazione seguendo le regole dell’antico Kanun, codice consuetudinario albanese. Un lungo percorso durato otto anni dove Luce, nutrita dalla fede, convince prima suo marito, poi i suoi figli a non vendicarsi, fino a giungere nel 1999 al "rito di riconciliazione".

Da allora, una profonda relazione unisce Luce a colui che ha commesso il crimine, s’incontrano, si aiutano e celebrano insieme le loro rispettive feste, il Baïram nella famiglia del perdonato che è musulmana e la Pasqua a casa di Luce che è cattolica.

Oggi, Luce è spesso interpellata per aiutare altre famiglie che vivono questo dramma della vendetta e s’impegna con lo stesso spirito d’amore in quest’opera di mediatrice de pace.

Ulteriori informazioni disponibili sul sito dei registi.

Un trailer del documentario è visibile qui.